Chapter Text
Motoyasu was an idiot. Strike that. He was the BIGGEST idiot that Naofumi has had the misfortune of knowing. Not only does he charge into action without thinking through a plan when fighting, but he also blindly believes whatever a pretty lady tells him with no questions asked. He has an ego bigger than his IQ and does not miss a chance to boast himself as a "charismatic hero" everywhere he goes and especially in the public eye. In other words, he's a large ham with no brain cells to thrive off of. Naofumi thinks all of this as he watches from a distance as the showoff Spear Hero does a few tricks in the square center of the village Naofumi was ruling over. This wasn't the first time Motoyasu has come for a "visit" as there have been more frequent as of lately and the Shield Hero has no idea why, but he would like to put a stop to it. He absolutely loathes the blonde idiot's attitude and just wants to go about a few weeks without Motoyasu showing up to boast and flaunt himself in front of Naofumi and his party.
"Naofumi-sama, are you ok?" A gentle voice interrupts Naofumi's daydream of Filo kicking Motoyasu into the sky again. He looks down to see Raphtalia looking at him with a bit of concern.
"Yeah. I'm just wondering why this idiot keeps showing up in the village, that's all." He grumbles, going back to giving Motoyasu a glare without the blonde noticing yet. He was too busy showing off yet another trick with his spear and impressing the village folks.
Raphtalia tilts her head having been wondering that too but not with much vice, "So have I. At first I thought maybe he was coming here to see Filo since he... adores her so much." At the mention of this, Naofumi rolls his eyes at the memories of the idiot gushing and throwing himself at Filo who can turn into a cute blonde little girl at the drop of a hat. It was sickening to watch him chase poor Filo around and calling her an “angel". The shield hero wonders why no one has sent that bastard to a dungeon or something. Is pedophile not illegal in this world?
Naofumi scoffs and says, "Yeah, most likely, the lolicon. I wish Filo was here so she can kick him in the balls again and we can all go back to our normal lives." He crossed his arms and kept looking like a grumpy cat.
The demi-human offers a little smile but continues, "That's the thing, though. Filo is not here. She went back to the Capital to spend some time with Melty since they haven't seen each other for awhile. So, why is the Spear Hero here?" She asked, looking back at Motoyasu.
This made Naofumi realize this fact too and blink for a second before frowning and answering, "He probably just doesn't know yet. Maybe once I break the news, he'll get the hell out of here already."
Now given an excuse to kick the Spear Hero out of his village, Naofumi makes his way through the crowd and right in front of Motoyasu who was finishing up one final trick before realizing that his rival has finally made an appearance. Motoyasu gave him his usual cocky smile which just made Naofumi bristle but didn’t say a word, "Ah, the Shield Hero has finally shown up! Come for our usual duel challenge? I'm sure I'll win this time and even our score!"
"Score of what? It's 10 to 0." Naofumi quickly replies without missing a beat. T
his time Motoyasu frowns and huffs, "It's 9 to 1! I won when we fought in that haunted castle, remember?" He proclaims but Naofumi just rolls his eyes.
“Ah, yes. You mean when you waited until I was low on HP after a wave to pounce on me and claim that was a "fair" fight. I remember that very well, you douche."
"I was low on HP too! We were both at half our strength and besides, you promised that we would fight after that battle so don't complain!"
"I never promised. You just rushed up to me and shouted that we were going to fight before the wave hit. I didn't get a chance to tell you to screw off before being teleported in that damn castle."
"It still counts!"
"In what universe, you Spear Idiot?"
"Hey!"
Their back to back banter has become a norm at this point to anyone who is around to witness the two heroes together. It was no secret that the two do not see eye to eye and hate each other down to the core. However, sometimes their arguments were amusing enough to be compared to an old married couple bickering in public. Not that anyone would say this out loud or else face the verbal wrath of the Shield Hero. It really doesn't matter who starts the argument though as it always ends with the two fighting in a duel and most of the time Naofumi wins by usually outsmarting Motoyasu. Those who do not like the Shield Hero would say that was cheating but honestly, it was the Spear Hero's fault for not learning to be on his toes and watch out for any tricky business with the other hero at this point. Then again, it has been proven many times that Motoyasu never learns.
Thankfully, Motoyasu was spared from another humiliating defeat when Raphtalia steps in-between the two before another fight breaks out. "Sir, Spear Hero, why have you come to visit us yet again?" She asked him politely as she could to distract him from his argument with Naofumi.
At the question, Motoyasu beams and says, "Oh! Hello Raphtellia-chan! I actually came here to- - -"
"Filo isn't here." Naofumi suddenly interrupts with his arms crossed and his usual scowl, "She's at the Capital visiting the 2nd princess. So just beat it, Pedo-Spear."
"Don't call me that! That's not why I'm here!" Motoyasu shouted back, growling at the black haired hero before calming himself down. "I'm here to deliver a special message to you two. It's from the Queen so you know it's important."
Being told this, both Naofumi and Raphtalia listen more attentively to what the blonde has to say. He clears his throat and relays the message, "The Queen wants all four heroes to come meet her at this new location she says used to be the meeting castle for the Legendary Heroes of the past. She says it was in shambles when we first appeared but after fixing it up, she now wants us to have all our meetings there from now on."
To that, Naofumi raises an eyebrow, "A meeting at a different location. Is that really necessary? It's already a hassle going all the way to the Capital but now she wants us to go to a completely new place. This is all bull." He sighs deeply, already feeling tired and grumpy from such a fuss. For once, Motoyasu can agree with Naofumi on this one. Being stuck in a medieval world with no technology or faster transportation can be exhausting and frustrating for modern men like them.
"I understand completely, but a command from the Queen can't be ignored, Naofumi. Even by us heroes. We have to go."
With that, Naofumi sighs again and scratches the back of his neck, "Fine. Where is this new meeting spot and when will it be?"
Motoyasu hands Naofumi a map with the marked location and tells him they have a week to get there. Naofumi is surprised and looks back at him, "Only a week to find this place? Is the Queen serious?!"
To that, Motoyasu sheepishly looks off and says quietly, "Actually..... She gave us two weeks and told me to tell you right away but I got distracted.... but now you know! Ok! Bye!" Before he could quickly run off, Naofumi grabs Motoyasu by the back of his red cape and holds him there. Surrounding Naofumi was a menacing aura that would make anyone wise to back away from them. Motoyasu gulps and dares to nervously look back at the pissed off expression Naofumi was giving him.
"And what the hell have you gotten distracted by that you couldn't have told me all of this sooner?" Naofumi spoke slowly but the growing anger in his voice was clear as day.
"..... My party wanted to go shopping in another town and said it sells good pastry bread and jewelry. They really wanted to go and.... time kind of got away from us. Sorry...." He flashes an innocent smile, hoping that would help him get off the hook.
Nope.
Everyone was told to ignore the screams coming from inside the shield prison.
***
Naofumi and Raphtalia had to pack things quickly if they even wanted to make it to this meeting on time and without running into any bad weather. They were forced to borrow another traveling filolial since Filo was not there to pull their wagon as usual. It was a good thing all filolial were fast otherwise they might not have made it to the meeting in time. It did take a week of rushing and finding the new meeting spot, but they made it a day early which was enough time to rest up before meeting with the Queen.
When arrived, they found themselves in front of a giant, tall tower with four symbols of each legendary weapons decorating the stony walls. There was a garden that was half dead and the pavement had lots of cracks from probably being decades old. At least the tower itself was fixed back to its original glory. Once at the front of the giant double doors, they were greeted by knights and servants who escort the two to the rooms they'll be staying in. Actually, Raphtalia was told she was going to be in a room separate from Naofumi since the heroes were to stay in their own exclusive halls from the rest of their parties. She gave a worried look but she trusted that Naofumi can take care of himself before leaving to her own room.
The Shield Hero was taken to these exclusive rooms only to find out that it wasn't four different rooms, but one giant room with four beds and enough space for four people and a bathroom. He frowned and turned to the maid and asked, "Why do all the heroes need to be in one room?"
He was obviously not happy with this arrangement but the maid simply replies, "This was where the four heroes of the past slept before and after meetings and training. I'm sorry, but the Queen said this would be a good start for you heroes."
A good start? For what?
Naofumi was about to ask but the maid quickly left the room, leaving his questions in the air and him standing there like a dumbfounded fool. He grumbles something under his breath before picking a bed close to the window and placing his stuff there. He did notice someone else's stuff was on another bed and figured another hero had arrived early too. He really didn't want to spend a night with the other heroes who were obnoxious in their own way, but at least it was for one night and after this important meeting, both Raphtalia and him can get the hell out of here.
"Oh, so you finally made it here. Took you long enough."
Speaking of, just in time one of said heroes finally made their appearance after coming out of the bathroom. It was Itsuki, the Bow Hero, the third youngest of the heroes, and little mister pretends-to-know-it-all-but-not-really. Out of all of them, Itsuki tries to look like a model hero that was noble, wise, and lived for righteous justice. However, underneath that innocent persona was a snobby rich kid who didn't have a clue on what justice really was but was willing to do anything to get his way, even by breaking the law from time to time. If things went wrong, he was quick to pass the blame on someone else to make himself look flawless.
Naofumi closes his eyes, takes a deep breath before slowly opening them again to speak with the high schooler. "Hey Itsuki. Been awhile." He said with less enthusiasm in his voice, not pretending to play nice like the other hero.
Itsuki frowns at being treated like a nuisance and places both hands on his hips, "What's with the tone? You act as if I'm the source of all your problems." He said with a casual eyebrow raised.
Naofumi scoffs and replies, "Not really, but you're like a pesky pebble in my shoe. So a small part of my problems." He gives him a sarcastic smirk before sitting on the bed he has claimed.
The frown never left Itsuki's face but he walked over to his own bed before saying, "I could say the same about you, but I'm much more mature then to blame all my problems on people."
To that, Naofumi rolls his eyes and just remains silent. He wanted to get some rest before the meeting since he barely got a wink trying to rush here. However, that was short lived when the window near him opened up and climbing in was the Sword Hero, Ren.
He startled Naofumi so badly that he nearly fell off his bed. Itsuki giggles a little as the college student quickly regains himself and glares harshly at the youngest hero, "Ren, why the hell are you climbing through the window? There are stairs in this tower!"
Ren climbs down inside the room and stands there, staring at him with his usual stoic face before finally answering, "More skill points. Plus, I found a climbing hook." He takes it out to show it off to them and Naofumi facepalms. Out of all of them, Ren was probably the most delusional about this world. He deeply believes that this was all some sort of game and that they were earning real life points for playing heroes. Naofumi wasn't sure when the kid was going to get a wake up call but he does hope that it's soon before Ren gets himself or someone killed playing around. Despite that, Ren annoyed Naofumi less to an extent. The kid keeps to himself most of the time and usually is off in his own little world which causes less trouble. But that didn't save him from being included on the list of "useless idiots" Naofumi had.
The older hero sighs deeply before flopping back on his bed and pretending the other two weren't there to bother him. Ren and Itsuki started chatting, pretending he wasn't there either. Evening was soon approaching and finally, the Spear Hero, Motoyasu showed up, messy, exhausted and with noticeable bite marks all over him.
Itsuki and Ren look surprised to see him in this state but before Itsuki asks what had happened, Motoyasu marches right up to a dozed off Naofumi and flips him off the bed. The Shield Hero didn't seem to notice as his high defense stats made him take any fall or attack with no major problems, so a little tumble from the bed wasn't enough to hurt him. However, he pretended to still be asleep just to piss off his rival. Which worked as it made the blonde even angrier before jumping on Naofumi and starting to shake him awake. Ren and Itsuki only stood by and watched with amusement before a maid knocked on the door and entered with a small announcement about dinner.
She stopped mid way upon realizing that two of the heroes were fighting and rolling all over the floor together. This obviously looks bad as Itsuki quickly shouts for the two to stop which they did once realizing that they had an extra audience. Motoyasu and Noafumi quickly get up but are still glaring at each other as the maid nervously announces that their dinner is ready as she stands by to lead them to the dining room. Itsuki apologizes to her about the "rough play" before giving the two a stern glare as if they were the children. He is the first to follow the maid with the rest right behind them.
At least dinner was peaceful enough. All of the heroes' respectable parties were there and feast on the wonderful foods offered as a small gesture of gratitude for assisting the four heroes on their battles and adventures. Naofumi quickly realizes that Myne wasn't there. As much as he wanted to do a backflip of joy for not seeing her here, it did cause suspicion. So, reluctantly, he interrupts Motoyasu flirting with a servant and asks about Myne's whereabouts which made Raphtalia just as skeptical as well.
Motoyasu explains, "Well, Myne- - -"
"Ah. You're supposed to call her "Bitch" in public~." Naofumi grins which caused Motoyasu to frown in distaste but continues.
"....SHE wasn't allowed to come here because the Queen said she might cause a distraction during the meeting. So.... the first princess is told to stay at the castle until I come back."
Naofumi smirks mockingly at how Motoyasu was avoiding calling his precious Myne "Bitch" and "Slut" as ordered after her punishment for all the schemes against the Shield Hero and her own sister Melty. He let it go, not wanting to start another argument plus it was a little fun seeing Motoyasu think before speaking.
That was rare.
After dinner and some more mingling and catching up, everyone went back to their rooms to rest up. The heroes had a meeting to go to in the morning while the rest of their parties were to be given special training to further level up so they can be more helpful to their respectable heroes. Raphtalia was excited for this special training as her tail wagged cutely before she said her good nights to Naofumi as she headed off to bed. He watches her leave with a couple of other female companies as they talk friendly while making their way to their rooms. He thought about how easily Raphtalia can get along with anyone that didn't think lowly of her precious Shield Hero or her race. She was always nice, polite and honest. She could earn the respect of anyone which made Naofumi wonder if she would be able to make more friends if she wasn't associated with him. He quickly shakes those negative thoughts from his head, but they still echo in the back of his mind. Reluctantly, he went back to the room he shared with the other heroes.
"I wonder what this meeting will be about this time." Motoyasu says out loud as he gets ready for bed. He casts off his boots, armor and cape to dress in his under clothes.
Ren was sitting on a bed between Naofumi and Motoyasu. He shrugs, "Who knows. I hope she makes it quick though." He says already bored being held up in this tower.
"Well, if she made us come all the way out here, then it probably won't be a quick little meeting." Noafumi points out as he also removed his armor and cape to lay down on his bed. "She only calls us out for some important news or discussion. So try to pay attention, you two."
"I always pay attention to what the Queen says!" Motoyasu quickly snaps, easily offended by what Noafumi was implying. He only got waved off as the Shield Hero threw his blanket over himself to get some sleep. Motoyasu huffs but leaves him alone as Itsuki finally emerges from the bathroom, cleaned and dressed in more proper night clothes.
"Aren't you three going to take a bath before bed?" The younger blonde asked as he noticed that all the other heroes only had removed their gears to get ready for bed. Ren gives a shrug for his answer and just goes back to cleaning his sword.
Motoyasu grins as he casually lays on his bed, "I'll take a bath in the morning after a quick jog."
"I didn't know you jogged. Or perhaps you are just trying to show off again." Itsuki smiles, sitting carefully on his own bed.
The older blonde smiles back playfully, "It's part of my daily routine. A hero has to stay in shape, after all."
"That's true. Maybe I might join you if you wake me up."
"Sounds great! It's been a while since I had a jogging buddy." Motoyasu smiles more, always wanting to be around someone.
Itsuki tilts his head a little, "Really? Doesn't anyone from your party join you since it would help them keep up with you? I notice that all of them have a hard time running along with you when we team up to fight the wave." He points out, always watching the other heroes to make sure they don't outshine him.
To that, the blonde shrugs and says, "We do train and stuff. I just try not to go too hard on them since they’re all girls." He said, missing the way Itsuki frowns at him but lets him continues, "Plus, in the morning, Myne- - -"
"Slut." Naofumi's voice popped up out of nowhere.
Motoyasu glares at him hard before rolling his eyes. Itsuki tries to hide his giggles behind his hand. Motoyasu ignores them both and continues, "My party is pretty tired in the morning so they don't usually get up until I come back and cook breakfast for everyone."
"Huh. Why do they sleep in so late? Don't tell me you all spend your days drinking and partying too much." Itsuki gave him a small disappointed and judgmental look before Motoyasu quickly corrected him.
"No, not all the time! Sure we go to bars for fun, but not every night. Usually it’s because we all have- - -" He cuts himself off and looks hesitant. The last thing he wanted was to be the one "tainting" the two youngest since they are high schoolers and probably never had sex before.
"Er, well, they just like sleeping in. Let's leave it at that." Motoyasu smiles slyly and looks away, pretending to be distracted by a painting on the wall.
Itsuki gave him a blank look before bluntly saying, "You mean you have orgies with them almost every night?"
"I-ITSUKI! COME ON!!"
"What? We all know you do it since you brag about it to the knights when we visit the castle." Itsuki rolls his eyes, not too keen on how Motoyasu treats him like a kid.
"St-still!! You don't just say stuff like that so bluntly!" He quickly looks at Ren, thinking he might look uncomfortable, but the quiet hero was still cleaning his sword and looks spaced out in his own little world. In other words, not paying any attention to their conversation at all. Naofumi still had his back turned towards all of them, softly snoozing.
Once it was clear the other two heroes were not paying attention, Itsuki gave Motoyasu a smug look. "See? No one here cares but don't start bragging either. You know, I don't really care what you do in your spare time, but you should really be more careful. This world doesn't have a lot of... safe methods when having intimate relationships so you could end up getting someone pregnant or getting a disease if you’re not mindful." He warns after his little lecture towards the older blonde. Motoyasu only smirks and chuckles before waving him off,
"I know, I know. Don't worry about Big Brother Motoyasu. He knows when to pull out or finish on the back~."
"You're gross." Itsuki scowls before getting under his covers, ending the conversation despite Motoyasu whining that he wasn't gross and it was a full proof plan.
The spear hero huffs before something pop up in his mind. He starts grinning widely, "So, since you brought up the conversation and acting like it's no big deal, have you ever- - -"
"If I have, I certainly wouldn't tell you about it. Good night, Motoyasu." Itsuki tries to close his eyes and go to bed but the oldest hero is now shaking his small body awake and demanding he tells him. It really was his own fault for bringing it up knowing how the Spear Hero was. Oh, how Itsuki wished the other would drop it instead of trying to be noisy, which was the pot calling the kettle black.
After a few minutes of Motoyasu not leaving him alone, Itsuki finally cracks, "Fine, fine. I'm not a virgin either. Satisfied?"
Motoyasu grins and prods some more, "When it happened? Here or in your world?"
Itsuki rolls his eyes but sits up and places his hands on his lap, "In my world. I don't really trust anyone from this world without some type of proper protection."
"Such a prude yet you somehow got laid. I'm impressed. Then again, you are cute in a little brother kind of way." The older blonde said now satisfied he got Itsuki to talk a little about his personal life.
The bow hero rolls his eyes and huffs in annoyance, but since he was made to confess something personal, he's going to make sure everyone else does too.
"Ren, are you a virgin or not?" Itsuki asked but it was more of a demand as he tossed a pillow at the other's head to get his attention.
Ren ducked and then glared as Itsuki smirks at him. Ren realized the other two heroes were waiting for him to answer. He was a bit lost on why they were asking but replies, "Not a virgin. I dated a few times back in my world."
"Wow! I'm shocked but also proud of you two." Motoyasu grinning which was annoying to the teenagers. "But have you had any since you've been here or are you going to bottle up till we return home like Itsuki?"
Ren gave Itsuki a look that was unreadable before he answered, "I did it a couple of times with really pushy fans who wouldn't leave me alone. Left before they woke up each time."
"So cold... what if they were in love with you?" Motoyasu asked, which was bizarre since the others dubbed him the "manwhore" of the heroes behind his back. Ren shrugs and scoffs, "That's their problem. Sex is sex if there are no feelings. Like I said, I only did it because they were so desperate."
"You always act so cold, Ren." Itsuki giggles teasingly at the sword hero before glancing over at Naofumi's sleeping body. He then speaks quieter to the other two heroes, "You think maybe he and that Raphtalia girl are intimate like that?"
Immediately both Ren and Motoyasu nod their heads together.
"Duh. I'll bet three gold coins they've done it."
"Same. They act like they're practically married and that sweet, cute, innocent angel Filo is their daughter."
Itsuki grins mischievously before saying, "Let's find out officially, though."
Motoyasu blinks, not catching on, "You mean wait until morning when he wakes up and asks?"
"Noooo~." Itsuki snickers before glancing back at the sleeping Naofumi and back at the other two, "One of you wake him up."
Motoyasu's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head and whispered back, "Hell no! You wake him up!"
"He'll get mad. Just drop it." Ren also agreed that this was a bad idea to wake up Naofumi only to ask him a dumb question. Who knows what wrath they'll have to face the pissed off shield hero.
However, Itsuki was feeling more daring right now and took three gold coins from his pocket and placed them on the floor. "Three coins says he's still a virgin and hasn't made a move on anyone yet."
There was a pause as the two other heroes were genuinely thinking over this bet versus. On one hand, three gold coins that’s worth a lot. On the other hand, it’s practically waking up a sleeping dragon. After this pause, Ren got his money out and placed three coins on the pile, "They're secretly dating."
Now all eyes are on Motoyasu who gulps nervously. He then gave into the peer pressure and put in three gold coins himself, "They're married and Filo is their daughter. Now...." He crosses his arms and squinted his eyes at the two, "Who's going to find out"
Ren and Itsuki looked at each other then back at him, "You, duh." They both said in union.
To that, Motoyasu gasps before standing up straight and yelling, "No way!!" before quickly slapping a hand over his mouth and looking at Naofumi nervously.
Too late.
That little outburst was enough for Naofumi to wake up and roll over to glare at the three who were making so much noise. "Be quiet, Spear Idiot. I'm trying to sleep."
Before Motoyasu could apologize, Itsuki quickly says, "Motoyasu has something to ask you!"
"Itsuki!!" The older blonde snapped and now was even more nervous at the fourth hero who looked ready to bite a head off.
Naofumi scowls and just rolls back in bed and places a pillow over his head, "Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it until morning."
"But it has to do with a bet." Ren pipped in, seeing it was now safe since Naofumi wasn't going to kill them for waking him up. Plus, they all knew about his interest of making quick money.
"..... How much?"
"We all put three gold coins in."
Now, they've earned Naofumi's full, undivided attention. He sits up and rubs his eyes, "Three coins each, huh? What kind of question is it?"
The three gave each other a look before Itsuki was actually brave enough to ask, "Well.... are you a virgin or not and if not, are you and Raphtalia a thing?"
There was a long pause as Naofumi looked at all of them like they lost their minds. However, by the serious looks they were giving him, they really wanted an answer.
"I hate women. Raphtalia and Filo are an exception but I hate women."
"....... That doesn't answer the question, Naofumi." Itsuki points out now crossing his arms.
"Why do you fools even want to know anyways?"
"Why are you being so defensive about it?"
"I'm not being defensive about it." Naofumi snaps, giving a nasty look at the bow hero, but the other wasn't backing down now and gave a smug look.
"Then answer the question. The rest of us aren't virgins so are you or not?"
"Is this some sort of boys only club? You're not peer pressuring me buddy-boy."
"You sure are dodging the question a lot. You must be a virgin. It's ok to admit it. We won't laugh or mock you maliciously behind your back." Itsuki smirks and Naofumi swore he looked like a little devil. The other two, Ren and Motoyasu, start to snicker mockingly alongside the bow hero. Naofumi narrows his eyes and feels his blood boiling. He could have told Itsuki to fuck off and went back to sleep, but then again 9 gold coins were on the line here. It was a moment of weakness as well as the desire to wipe all those smirks from their faces.
Naofumi gets up and walks over to stand before the three other heroes. There were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and it seemed like his permanent bitch face was even more bitchier. All Naofumi wanted at that moment was to collect some winnings and go back to bed, so he opened his mouth without thinking and confessed, "I'm gay, now give me that money."
He held his hand out as if they all now owe him for coming out of the closet. The trio sat there with shock written all over their faces before Itsuki stuttered out, "Um... I-I had betted that you two weren't a thing.... and that you were a virgin.... s-so- - -"
"You didn't guess the gay part, so I get half of your winnings." Naofumi growls at him, wanting them to hurry up so he can get some much deserved sleep.
No one really moved through as they all continued to stare before Ren suddenly blurted out, "Prove it."
Now it was Naofumi's turn to look shocked, but that only lasted for about a few seconds before giving them both a challenging look back. Without saying a word or warning, Naofumi grabs Motoyasu, kisses him hard on the lips and even adds a little bit of tongue since the blonde was too dumbfounded to fight back. Both Ren and Itsuki's jaws dropped and stayed like that after the kiss ended. Naofumi collects his share of the money and leaves the rest to Itsuki before going back to bed without another word. No one else said anything for the rest of the night, especially Motoyasu who was still shocked over the kiss and stayed like that without getting a wink of sleep.
***
The following morning, all four heroes were still quiet or at least, three of them weren't talking to Naofumi, wisely giving him space. He didn't care as he got up, did his usual morning routine before going to find Raphtalia. He didn't even look at Motoyasu who was also avoiding eye contact.
Raphtalia was up at her usual time and was actually out in the garden, practicing her sword swinging skills when Naofumi found her. She turns around and smiles at him brightly like she always does, "Good morning, Naofumi-sama. Did you sleep well? There is some breakfast ready if you want to go eat together- - -"
"I kissed Motoyasu last night over a bet." He just blurted out without giving his swordswoman a chance to finish her sentence.
“....”
"I kissed him in front of Ren and Itsuki. Now they all know that I'm gay and I'm going to go hang myself. I already wrote out my will this morning and I'm leaving all my possessions to you. Filo can have the cart and you two can split the inheritance money amongst yourselves. See you in another life, Raphtalia." Naofumi turns on his heels and starts heading to a nearby tree with a long rope that Raphtalia just noticed he had in his hands.
She quickly stops him and pulls the rope from his grip before he does any harm to himself. "Naofumi-sama, please! It's not the end of the world!" She cries, trying to shake some sense into the man. "You can't be serious about killing yourself over this. Now, why would you do that last night?"
"Because I was sleep deprived. I wanted all of them to shut up. So I kissed that Spear Idiot and won the bet, but now I want to crawl under a rock and die."
"You're being dramatic! I-I mean, sure, kissing someone to win a bet is a bit....overkill.... but they might not think of it that way...." She trailed off, trying to approach this situation carefully. "If it was over a silly bet, then they might think it was just for that and nothing more. That kiss doesn't mean you really like Motoyasu, right....?"
To that, Naofumi gives her a nasty look before quickly shakes his head, but still buries his face in both his hands and groans. Raphtalia sighs in a small bit of relief and gives him a hug to calm him down. It was a huge disappointment and blow when Naofumi confessed to her about his sexuality a while ago. However, she's learned to accept it and root for him since Naofumi was still Naofumi. Sure, it sucks that all her daydreams of them getting married one day were crushed, but she still wanted him to be happy and there were plenty of other fishes in the sea for them both.
However, despite her reassurance that everything was going to be ok, in the back of her mind, she wasn't sure. Yes, that kiss meant nothing but how will the heroes treat Naofumi now that they know his secret? Homosexuality wasn't exactly well liked in these parts with religion being a big influence and everything. Naofumi knew this too, which was one of the reasons why he kept it such a tight secret. Now he blew it over five pieces of gold coins. Who knows how many people Itsuki, Ren and Motoyasu have told by now? After a long silence between the duo thinking over what to do now, Naofumi finally speaks up which makes Raphtalia stand up in attention and listen closely, "Ok.... during this meeting, you find out if anyone else found out. If you have, threaten or pay them off. After the meeting, I'll deal with the other heroes and make sure they don't tell anyone else and then- - - "
"And then what?"
Noafumi and Raphtalia jump in surprise before turning around to find none other than Itsuki who didn't look all that pleased.
Naofumi straightens up and gave him a hard glare back before saying, "What do you want? Another childish bet to further humiliate me?" He hisses with venom as if this was all Itsuki's fault.
The shorter blonde shakes his head, ignoring the hostile atmosphere the two were giving off as he spoke, "The Queen will be arriving shortly. Before then, we need to discuss what happened last night.... alone."
He side glances at Raphtalia as if cuing her to leave yet she remains put and glares at him. She didn't let the other heroes boss her around and Noafumi was proud of her for that. Still, they shouldn't start any arguments this early before meeting the Queen. So, Naofumi assures Raphtalia that it won't be long and she reluctantly leaves but not before giving Itsuki a warning glare to not mistreat her Naofumi. She then went off to fix both herself and Naofumi some breakfast, leaving the two other heroes to talk amongst themselves.
Itsuki motions Naofumi to follow him further into the garden, behind the tower where they can talk more privately. Naofumi has no idea what was on the bow hero's mind but if he tries to blackmail him, then Naofumi can think of a few things to counter it. Once they were in a spot that satisfied Itsuki, he turned back to Naofumi and finally spoke. "I already made Ren and Motoyasu agree to never speak about what happened last night."
That.... was surprising. Naofumi blinks at him dumbstruck but before he can ask why, Itsuki already sees the question coming and answers, "It would reflect badly on all of us if word got out about your secret attraction. This country is run by religion and everyone looks at us to follow the bible just like the rest of them. I don't care what you prefer, but keep it in the closet and never act upon it. You of all people should know that there are still many enemies out for your neck and if they find out about this, it'll drag us all down along with you. So, I suggest, no, I demand you never kiss or lay with anyone until we all go to our own homes. Understand?"
Naofumi was so shocked by this speech until it turned to anger. He balled up his fists and glared harder at Itsuki who didn't blink or back down. The bow hero had guts, he can give him that. Too much guts for him to stand there and order Naofumi to hide who he is. However, as much he wanted to blast that little turd to the ground, he was right. He would never admit it out loud but Itsuki was right. He just got out of a lot of trouble with the Three Church, Myne and the King. He didn't need to give those people tools to drag him through the dirt again.
"I was never going to be open about it, anyways. Last night was just a slip up but it won't happen again." He felt the need to say just to set the record straight between them.
To that, Itsuki actually looks a little relieved and sighs, "Good. Just keep your feelings about Motoyasu to yourself and- - -"
"Hold up, hold up. There are no "feelings", alright?” Naofumi scowls and looks disgusted by the implications made. “It was a stupid, meaningless kiss to win a dumb bet that you started. And if Motoyasu lets it go to his head or acts even more stupid over it, tell him I'll shove that spear up his ass."
"You really are a tsundere, aren't you?" Itsuki smirks before quickly dodging a punch Naofumi made towards his face. The bow hero quickly runs back to the front of the tower leaving the other male alone and to brood a little before coming back to the front as well.
At breakfast, everyone acted normal and ate merrily. This time, Queen Mirellia had finally arrived and joined them for what was, for her, brunch. Melty and Filo had come along with her and Motoyasu was too busy gushing over the cute way Filo was eating to act any way out of character. That was a huge relief on Naofumi's part as the blonde wore his thoughts on his sleeves. How Itsuki got him to keep quiet about it, he'll never know. Filo was oblivious to what was going on as she ate and told both her master and Raphtalia about all the things Melty and her did at the castle. Motoyasu was told to sit across from her rather than all over her as he hung on to every word she said which was annoying but no one said anything.
At last, when it seems like everyone has had their fill, the Queen announces that it was time for the heroes' meeting and that their party members are to go with her private knights. They are to learn more techniques and spells to help their heroes more during the waves.
Everyone was soon dismissed to go where they needed to go. Filo and Melty followed the party members and the four heroes followed Mirellia to the top of the tower. Once they made it up there, they were greeted by a huge room filled with old strolls of paintings of the past heroes and in the middle was a large circle table. It reminded Naofumi of the story of King Arthur and how all his knights sat at the Round Table so all would be equal to each other. This was no exception as the Queen explained word for word the purpose of this table and was pleased that all the heroes understood it quickly. Now, they all sat on a chair and waited patiently for Mirellia to start the meeting.
"I'm glad to see all four heroes have made it here safely and soundly to the Heroes Tower. As you all should be informed, this is where all important meetings and training will be held from now on. My apologies for not having this set up sooner for you, but you were summoned prematurely before all my arrangements went through." She says, reminding them of all the wicked plots the king pulled off, including summoning the four heroes behind his own wife's back. It was one of the reasons he was stripped of his title as king along with the crooked princess. Naofumi had wondered if that was an equivalent of a divorce but he never asked. He just listens as the Queen continues with the meeting, "With that, I would like to discuss your corporation so far. How are all of you getting along now that all the corruption and the misunderstandings have been cleared up?"
All four heroes looked at each other and Naofumi made the mistake of looking at Motoyasu. When the two catch each other's eyes, they quickly look away and this does not go unnoticed by Mirellia who gives a small concerned look. Itsuki quickly speaks out on the behalf of all the heroes, "We're getting along fine now, your majesty. We may not see each other as often but there is no longer hostility or meaningless competition." He smiles as brightly and innocently as he could muster.
However, the Queen wasn't so easily fooled and smiled gently, "Is that right? I was told before my arrival that two heroes were already fighting in their shared rooms."
This caused all of them to stiffen up having been caught. Itsuki kicked himself for forgetting about that pesky maid. "Ah, yes.... that was just some rough play between Motoyasu and Naofumi. They were only practicing some techniques and showing them off." He quickly regains himself and lies through his teeth. Naofumi was impressed that the shorter blonde can do that right in the face of a powerful authority figure like Mirellia. Young people are so bold these days.
He played along, not wanting to get in any trouble or cause her to doubt them as he nodded. "Yeah. Just playing a bit." Even Motoyasu nodded too, also not wanting to look bad for starting a fight with the shield hero.
The Queen smiles knowing well it wasn't as they claim it to be but lets it slide for now. "If that is what it was, then I'll let it be. However, I do fear you all are not working together as you should, especially when the waves hit. Each one is stronger than the last and we are facing even greater threats because of them. All four kingdoms are worried and their faith in the church, as well as the heroes, are starting to waver. All four of you are representors of peace and justice, so you must act like it. Even towards each other." Her voice was stern and spoke as if she was gently lecturing her children about getting along. It was enough to make all four heroes look a bit guilty for their previous actions. The last thing any of them wanted to do was to disappoint their Queen.
"With that being said, the other reason you were brought here was because I want all four heroes to stay at the tower and train to become closer before the next wave hits."
At this, all four jaws dropped and the heroes stared at her in disbelief. Motoyasu was the first to express this surprising news, "WHAT?" He exclaims which made the rest of them snap out of their small dose of shock and quickly voice their disapproval.
"You can not be serious, your majesty. What about our daily duties as heroes? We have citizens to protect and laws to uphold." Itsuki states, believing she had lost her mind.
"We can't level up by staying in one spot. Our weapons don't level up when we're around each other." Ren pointed out, obviously upset too as all he wanted was to train alone and not be held back.
"We'll kill each other before the end of the week." Naofumi bluntly points out, crossing his arms and glaring at the other three heroes, knowing he'll start his killing spree with Motoyasu first.
Despite all their gripping and complaints, Mirellia sits there calmly and quietly until they finally settle down after realizing whom they were talking back to.
Fortunately, she didn't hold it against them as she knew they would all be against the idea. Once they've gotten quiet, she speaks out again, "I understand all your worries, but rest assured, there have already been skilled knights assigned to each of your locations to make sure the peace is kept like you would. As for your concern about leveling up, this is where the beauty of this tower comes in. You see, this is no ordinary tower, but one filled with magic only the four chosen heroes can use. It is also the one place in this entire kingdom where you can all practice training together and actually level up even faster than your usual ways."
At this, all four of them look yet again, shocked by this news and now some of them actually excited.
"Whoa, really? We can level up more by working together in this tower?!" Motoyasu grins in joy over this and looks at the others to see if they were also pumped up. Of course, any way to level up more was an ok plan in Ren's book so he was quickly convinced to go along with this too. Itsuki seems to be pondering a bit more about this but soon smiles and agrees that this would be an interesting way of training. However, the only one not so gun-hold on teaming up was, of course, Naofumi as he was always careful and less trusting of others.
He was still frowning and just looked at them with his own thoughts in his head before finally shaking it in disapproval, "I'm sorry, your majesty, but it's a no for me. I can't afford to just leave my village in the hands of some random knights. I also can't just leave my party to be cooped up here for who knows how long. And," He then glares at the other three heroes with sharp venom, "I can't trust the other heroes with teaming up. We tried before but it always fails. We just can't work together. We're all too different in how our weapons work, how they level up and how our personalities are."
The other three heroes glared at Naofumi as he was always the downer but he didn't care. He knew he was right and was stubborn at changing his mind.
At this, Mirellia sighs a little, "I understand your concerns, Naofumi, but this will help defeat the waves in the long run. You are all doing well on your own for now, but as I mentioned before, we have much stronger enemies ahead that will threaten our world and people. There will be times you have no choice but to work together in order to bring about your true powers and bring peace to this world once more. So, please, reconsider and promise you all will work hard on building teamwork and trust amongst yourselves."
As much as he loathes the idea of spending even a second more with the three stooges, Noafumi found it hard to refuse the Queen a second time when she asked something really important of him. She was one of the few royals he trusts who treats him like an actual hero and helped clear his name of all the crimes he was falsely accused of. It was also obvious she had the most faith in Naofumi as he managed to crawl himself out of the pit and rise to be the most capable of all the heroes. He made another mistake of looking at her again and saw the same pleading eyes Melty gave him when she put all her trust in him to save her life.
"Two weeks and if I haven't killed one of them, then this experiment might work."